The Insight of Haruhi Suzumiya
by sarsparilla
Summary: Summer vacation is approaching and every member of the SOS Brigade has his or her own aspirations for the occasion, but none of them can anticipate the eventual outcome. A novel-length original flavor story continuing past the events of book 11.
1. Prologue I

Disclaimer: The characters of the Haruhi Suzumiya series of novels are created by Tanigawa Nagaru. No disrespect is intended by borrowing them for the presentation of this work of fan fiction.

This is a novel-length, divergent story depicting events past book 11 of the original series, and as such contains possible spoilers for plot elements up to that point. While reading all the books is certainly recommended, it is not strictly necessary for following this story. With one important exception, characters that are exclusive to the novels do not play a major role here; however, it must be noticed that the members of the SOS Brigade themselves have been growing up after the events covered by the anime series.

This is also an earnest attempt at writing an original flavor novel, i.e., one that imitates the style and motifs of the series as closely as possible. The eventual length of the story will be comparable to the story arc covered in books 9 to 11.

The author of this story has received indispensable support and advice from the members of the Soulriders community.

* * *

**Prologue (Remembrance Impromptu)**

Once again, summer had arrived.

Although spring is my favorite time of the year, summer comes right behind, and not just literally speaking. The long awaited summer vacation was finally so close that it was turning from a distant reverie into a tangible possibility; like peasants enduring the hardship of the rice-planting season, students had been working hard ever since the beginning of the new school year, knowing that the arduous labor will soon be over and there will be a short respite before the fruits of the invested effort can be harvested.

_Shousho_ — the start of the hot season in the solar calendar — was still ahead, but the weather had been fair with ever increasing temperatures for two weeks already. To the teachers' eternal exasperation, the students' last shreds of determination to sit quietly inside reading about mind-numbing topics like function theory, verb conjugation or the power struggles of the Kamakura period were being slowly but surely worn down by the persistent sunshine.

This was my second summer as a high school student, but in a sense it was the first one when I actually felt more or less like an actual student, enjoying the steady and predictable schedule of school activities with normal, everyday thoughts in my mind. _Mostly_ normal thoughts, but those that went beyond what any average person could possibly categorize as normal were, surprisingly, not that unwelcome either.

I realized — to my own mild astonishment — that on the whole I was more satisfied with the current situation than ever since entering high school and meeting the person who turned my entire world upside down like an irresistible force of nature.

_Haruhi Suzumiya_

It's a name that I won't forget as long as I live. One of the reasons for that was exactly that I had spent a large part of the last summer in a constant state of emergency, trying to avert an impending end-of-the-world disaster that always seemed to be just one poorly chosen word or inadvertent action away. Since that time things had gotten better — so much better in fact that right now I could sit here on the school premises and enjoy the agreeable atmosphere of an early afternoon in July like anybody else. I was completely confident of the fact that any sudden disturbance couldn't take it away from me.

For most people it might be a sign of foolishness to express excessive confidence in future events, but I had a very specific reason for my seemingly bold statement. Having originally been a direct threat to the world as we knew it, Haruhi's ability to subconsciously alter reality had by now become a source of stability instead, guarding us from all external threats.

The last time somebody had tried to divert the course of history from its proper path had been in April; the attempt had been swiftly and decisively thwarted in a manner that underlined the fact that the scheme hadn't had any chance of succeeding in the first place. Maybe such an overwhelming show of force was acting as a deterrent, making any would-be antagonists think twice before they pushed forward with their futile plans. Whatever the reason, the SOS Brigade had enjoyed an extended period of relatively peaceful and untroubled existence for over two months, and I wasn't going to be the one to complain about it.

However, the largest change could be seen in Haruhi herself, if one knew where to look. She was still as energetic and excitable as ever, sometimes coming up with a new idea that temporarily turned her immediate surroundings into a hotbed of more or less questionable activities, but anybody who observed her actions on a merely superficial level would miss the most important development. As much as it strains the definition of the word to say this, Haruhi was undeniably becoming more _normal_.

The few city-wide mystery searches that we had had after the SOS Brigade anniversary in May had turned into poorly-concealed excuses for window shopping, and Haruhi had apparently been completely content with that. Beyond the brigade activities, she was also interacting with other people on a daily basis, and I was pretty certain that these days she was genuinely enjoying the company of perfectly ordinary students like Sakanaka-san. Actually, when Haruhi was not using her position as the leader of the brigade to push issues in the direction she wanted, she could present an entirely engaging and sociable aspect of herself to others.

In my opinion, it wasn't as much a matter of her growing up into a better person as it was one of her again becoming the nice person she had once been. I had several good reasons for believing this after all the things that I had learned during the incident in April.

Oh, and one more thing. I couldn't remember the last time when Haruhi had openly expressed her desire to find aliens, espers or time travelers.

"The situation is exactly as you describe."

This completely unnecessary comment was provided by the person sitting idly next to me on the stairs leading down to the baseball field. The top team of North High was having a match against a visiting team from another school, and the lunch break had been extended to let the students watch the game. Other than whatever meager pride we could muster to support the home team, neither of us had any personal interest in the current match, and thus we sat there listlessly like two old cormorant fishers, content with the opportunity to just enjoy the scenery and let others do the hard work.

A moment of silent indulgence would have suited me perfectly, but the official mysterious transfer student and vice president of the SOS Brigade felt compelled to keep talking without any further encouragement to do so. He certainly seemed to enjoy the opportunity more than I did.

"Please let me assure you of the fact that my current smile is completely genuine and heartfelt. There hasn't been a single instance of closed space forming after that incident in April, and this state of things has allowed the Organization to lower its readiness level. After four years of living on the edge I finally get to sleep through the night unperturbed. I was not even fully aware of how large a burden the constant pressure had become until this reprieve. Quite honestly, I am feeling refreshed, almost like a different person, and I sincerely hope for things to stay this way."

Koizumi paused momentarily to watch as a fortuitously placed line drive brought in a run for the home team and chuckled before continuing.

"Still, there has been some minor consternation within the Organization concerning the current situation. From a certain point of view, right now we are essentially an agency without a purpose. Speaking of which, I must say that I can completely sympathize with the situation Tachibana-san is facing. I have understood that she's had a hard time after she left her respective faction, and it looks like their whole organization might be on the verge of collapse.

"Then, you know as much about the whereabouts of the other members of that temporary coalition as I do. Ever since the joining of the timelines in April there hasn't been a single sighting of the person known as Fujiwara, so we might have gotten permanently rid of him, although it goes without saying that one can never be completely certain when it comes to time travelers.

"On the other hand, the alien interface of the Sky Canopy Dominion is still attending Kouyouen and seems to be uninterested in communicating with us at the moment. Of course, I am not privy to whatever communications the two alien factions might be having with each other. That is the current situation, and there are no discernible forces acting toward destabilizing it."

To be completely fair, credit must be given for not mentioning Sasaki in that context.

"Certainly, the Organization is keeping an eye on Sasaki-san as well, for obvious reasons. She is definitely … interesting, in more ways than just one. But then again, so are you."

I profess to stay ignorant of whatever that is supposed to mean.

"I thought that I was completely clear with my choice of words. Anyway, it looks like both our assessments of the situation and expectations for the summer are in perfect harmony, and I find the prospects just as auspicious as you do. I am glad to say that there is indeed a stark contrast to the circumstances of just one year ago."

Koizumi stopped talking, and I watched other students around the perimeter of the field for a while before concentrating on the game again. It looked like the match was wrapping up, and unless the visiting team could make an unexpected comeback, the home team would take an easy win after the next half-inning. I wasn't particularly interested in a game with an obvious outcome, so I stood up and headed back to the main building. Koizumi was in no hurry and decided to stay through the end of the match, so as I walked away he just remarked that we'd be seeing each other after school hours again.

Although I hadn't bothered mentioning it when talking with Koizumi, there were other things that I had become aware of recently, and which were harder to assess because they represented some new development I was unfamiliar with. I wasn't really concerned about the situation, but there was this faint, nagging feeling at the back of the mind suggesting that I _should_ be. For a lack of better word to describe it, Haruhi had apparently become _absent-minded_.

In July it was already way too late to catch May sickness, and in any case Haruhi would never catch such a commonplace disorder, but I was almost certain that there was something in her mind that she was holding back. On occasion, she would abruptly stop talking — even in the middle of a sentence — and stay silent for a good while before continuing with some other, completely unrelated topic. Or, she might suddenly lose all interest in a particular idea that she had only a moment ago pursued like it was her entire _raison d'etre_ and just sit still for ages, contemplating some inner vision she wasn't willing to share with others.

I had previously seen what Haruhi looked like when she was bored, annoyed or just dispirited, and this spell was none of those. It wasn't even the muted aura of a Haruhi who was secretly hatching a new plan for making the world a more interesting place. No, there was something else, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was, and there wouldn't be any point in asking, anyway.

Like people living on the slopes of a dormant volcano, drawn to the spot by the abundantly fertile soil, the SOS Brigade had gathered itself around the imposing Mt. Haruhi because of the vantage point it provided. However, it had gradually started to look like the volcano might be waking up from its slumber. The tremors, while still faint, were arriving at more or less regular intervals, making the population cautious. Would this be just a case of the mountain turning about in its sleep before settling down again, or would the night sky suddenly start raining fire and ash, sweeping away the landmarks of progress that people had managed to build?

I would've wished such visions to be just a case of overeager imagination and misapplied dramatic license; however, with powers far beyond human control or even comprehension, one could only wait and hope for the best.

Then, there was yet another new, more mundane element in the situation. Shortly after the beginning of the school year, and on her own initiative, Haruhi had taken it on herself to help me with studying. It had originally started by Haruhi making me learn the minimal amount of tricks to pass an upcoming math quiz, eventually evolving into full-blown lectures on whichever topic she found pertinent at any given time, usually during breaks when there wasn't anything else to do.

It wasn't exactly a regular or a particularly systematic curriculum, as Haruhi followed her own interests and lines of thought which were as unfathomable as the migration patterns of bluefin tuna in the uncharted depths of the ocean. Sometimes she would press a certain topic for two or three days in a row and then forget the whole thing for just as long; I would start to suspect that she had lost all interest in the undertaking until she picked up the books again.

Whatever I thought in general about being the focus of Haruhi's sporadic efforts to make the world a more learned place — even if only by a vanishingly small amount in total — I had to admit that her approach was working. After a long, depressing downward slope that had dominated my performance record for the entire first year there had recently been a definite turn for the better, and although I wasn't anywhere near the top of the list like Haruhi, it had started to look less likely that I would be doomed to spend time as a _ronin_ after getting out of high school.

Besides having my own grades on the rise, I had also gradually started to understand how Haruhi could always get top scores in every exam without seemingly doing any work at all. It wasn't so much a matter of being able to rapidly pick up new facts, as it was about picking up the _right_ facts and ignoring everything else, something that Haruhi seemed to be able to do intuitively, without even realizing that it was a feat beyond the abilities of most students, myself included. If anything, I felt that on my own I somehow always managed to pick up the exactly wrong facts on any topic, providing me with an endless supply of utterly useless information.

Thus, the situation was slowly undermining my confidence in the entire educational system; what if most of the material that we were required to go through was only there to make it harder to find the few important bits in the middle of all the chaff? Who knows, some day Haruhi might be in a position to revolutionize the entire learning process, and it would probably be something that she would do without even noticing. It would be all in a day's work for her, considering all the other things that she had created inadvertently, like that brigade logo that attracted data beings, or the literature club editorial column that — according to Asahina-san — contained the founding principles of time traveling technology.

Come to think about it, what hidden secrets might still be contained in the movie that we had made for the culture festival? Maybe in a hundred years' time people would be able to decrypt the ultimate answer to life, universe and everything from that movie? In a chance event like that, I wasn't quite certain whether I should feel proud or embarrassed about my part in it all.

Anyway, even my tender and eternally concerned mother had noticed the change, and had tried to find out the specific reason through circumspect and seemingly offhand questions. Evading my mother's inquiries made me feel somewhat conflicted. On one hand, I was receiving undue merit as long as she suspected that I had achieved the results through my own diligent effort; on the other hand the situation would become even more complicated if I told her the real reason behind my improving grades.

For all I knew my mother would probably insist to have Haruhi visiting us, maybe even regularly. Then my mother would get a chance to show her gratitude, but since Haruhi isn't really used to receiving praise for the things she does of her own volition, she might decide to drop the whole project permanently, leaving me to my own devices again.

So, regardless of which option I'd take, a carefree life didn't seem to be among the choices for me. Still, I wish for the sake of my future prospects to stay in your favor, at least concerning this issue, Haruhi-sensei!

At that point my rumination was interrupted by a brisk call that was immediately recognizable.

"Oi! Kyorosuke!"

I raised my gaze and saw an excited upperclassman waving to me at the other end of the corridor. It had been a while since I had seen Tsuruya last and as I walked closer I wondered what she might have in mind. It didn't take too long to find out.

"Hiyas, how are you? Saw you there and remembered that there's something that I must asks about the summer vacation. Are you still intending to come and visit that castle that we've talked about? I would need to know soon to have enough time for the arrangements."

"Now that you mentioned it, you're right. The vacation is almost here already but I still don't know anything about the trip. You should probably talk with Haruhi, although I haven't heard her mention the whole thing lately."

"I'll talk with Haru-nyan later but right now I haven't gots the time. Sorries for not taking care of it before, but I have been megas busy with studies. Teachers don't speak about anything else than what we needs to know for the university exams. It's cramming and cramming day in, day out; you'll soon see yourself!"

Tsuruya put a finger on her cheek as if thinking about something. "Oh right, that reminds me! I hope that everything is well with the brigade?"

"I certainly think so. As well as it has ever been, if you ask me."

"And you haven't done anything that would cause extra troubles for Mikuru, nyoro?"

"For Asahina-san? I can't really think of anything…. Is there something that I should worry about?"

Tsuruya cocked her head to the side and examined me sharply. "In that case you must forget that I even asked about it. Because, if you gots too worried about it then you'd perhaps do something that _would_ cause trouble, for you and Mikuru, and for Haru-nyan as well, and I wouldn't want anything like that to happen. So, no worries, right?"

"If you say so. I don't even know what this is all about."

"Nothing, it's nothing. Say, have I mentioned how many times we've been told how unique the play that you presented during the flower viewing event was? SOS Brigade may soon be a household name all across the country if you continue like that!"

"Well, to be quite honest, I'd rather not talk about it too much, at least right now."

"So, the brigade doesn't have any plans for the upcoming festivals?"

"None that I'm aware of…."

At that moment I remembered something that I had been thinking about a couple of days ago but somehow managed to forget until now. For some unknown reason a seemingly serendipitous idea presented itself and I acted on that impulse, not considering the possible consequences all the way through. My bad, but as the saying goes, things always look clearer with hindsight.

"…or actually, there is something. If it's not too much of a burden, I'd like to ask for a small favor."

"Sure, ask away! I'm only glad to help whichever ways I can."

I described a particular incident that had happened almost exactly one year ago, and Tsuruya giggled when she heard the details. I then explained what I had in mind and she nodded vigorously and clapped her hands together in anticipation.

"But of course, that's a megas fine idea! Come for a visit after the schools today and we'll get you what you need, agreed?"

"I'll be there, then, although I cannot give any exact time at the moment."

"Never mind, just drop by whenever, and if I'm not at home I'll leave a message for the servants so they can help you! And, way to go!"

Tsuruya laughed again and made a victory sign with her free hand while hurrying away like a girl-shaped whirlwind, as full of energy as always. Actually, I was a bit baffled by her reaction. My suggestion wasn't really anything special, but Tsuruya seemed to think otherwise. Oh well, whatever. Tsuruya was the only person I knew who could give even Haruhi a run for her money when it came to lateral, diagonal or just plain old off-the-wall thinking.

I cleared the last stretch to my intended destination and entered class 2-5. After just a few months of the new term the place already felt almost like a second home to me with all its familiar details, especially the one currently sitting on her seat, looking out of the window in apparent contemplation.

The key to autoevolution. A vessel holding divine power. The foundation and arbitrator of the possible futures of the humankind. Who knows what else? As I walked closer I tried to match these theoretical concepts to the girl who just then swiped her shoulder-length dark hair back from her temple with one hand, momentarily revealing a perfectly shaped earlobe. No, it wasn't like that at all. Those concepts only tried to artificially constrain her by shoving the issue into an arbitrary box with a convenient label on it, while missing the most crucial aspects.

Regardless of what anybody else said, the only way to avoid leaving out some essential detail was to admit that Haruhi was Haruhi. I couldn't care less about the fact that there were entire organizations full of people devoted to studying her every whim like ancient oracles predicting fortunes from cracks in scorched turtle shells. None of those people sat next to her in this class and I had to wonder how many of them could see her as an actual person instead of some abstract, supernatural resource to be controlled and possibly exploited for purposes that were deemed worthy by the powers that be.

In the circle of people who were aware of the secret my trust only reached as far as the membership of the SOS Brigade, not to the respective factions behind those members.

I sat down on my own seat and turned around to face the peerless brigade chief who was completely unaware of her position in the eye of this maelstrom of secrecy and shady motivations. Well, she _had_ wished for the world to revolve around herself, but would she really be happy if she ever found out that it was true?

She kept staring through the window in a way that I could only describe as reflective, without acknowledging my presence in any way. It bothered me slightly, although I couldn't pin down the exact reason for the uneasy feeling. I decided to say something to break the silence.

"I didn't see you around on the sports field. Have you been here for the whole time?"

Haruhi didn't seem to mind that I interrupted her thoughts, whatever they were, but she didn't move her gaze away from the window either.

"It's totally boring to just watch as others play."

"Don't tell me that you are planning to sign us up for a baseball tournament again."

"I'm not planning anything of the kind. When it comes down to it, winning every time until you run out of opponents is almost as boring as not playing at all, but on the other hand I really hate losing as well."

"So, you are feeling bored because of a lack of challenge?"

"That's not what I said! It's just that there are more pertinent things to think about than some random game that is so simple that a child could play it."

"I was afraid that you might say something like that."

My latest comment finally made Haruhi turn her attention away from whatever she had been watching on the other side of the window, which only meant that now I found myself under her scrutinizing gaze.

"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious that the world would be a much more interesting place if people used all the energy that they now spend by hitting a little ball across the field by arranging a space race to the moon and planets instead, or by unveiling hitherto unsolved mysteries of the universe?"

Some of those unsolved mysteries might just want to live a frugal life of peace and harmony without any uninvited visitors barging in and forcibly unveiling them.

"Kyon! I'm not asking you to grab a pair of pom-pons and start jumping up and down in excitement, but you should at least be cheering for the home team instead of jeering!"

I guess that for the sake of balance somebody must do the jeering as well. Anyway, it's probably the case that people just do what they can according to their abilities. As you said yourself, it's much easier to catch a little ball than a genuine _rokuro-kubi_, and I'm not sure that the latter could even be turned into a prime time show if a successful fly-out couldn't be guaranteed in advance.

"That's not an excuse for failing to do your best!"

Haruhi stared me with the unflinching focus of a martial artist who had just issued a formal challenge to an opponent of questionable prowess.

So, humankind as a whole was still falling short of Haruhi's extremely rigorous standards, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Haruhi, on the other hand, certainly could; however, she hadn't attempted anything as drastic as completely rewriting the world after that one fateful night, the details of which I couldn't possibly think about too closely in this situation without risking a radical change in the overall atmosphere.

That incident had happened over a year ago. In spite of several unpleasant and some truly dangerous situations along the way, it was my steadfast opinion that things had been changing for the better.

In the end, I settled for a statement that was undeniably true.

"I rather like things the way they are right now."

I expected to be served a swift retort as I saw that Haruhi was already in full swing like a National League hitter, ready for driving my lazy pitch right out of the field, but then she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She looked me directly in the eyes for a fraction of a second, as if having second thoughts about her intended reply, before snapping her mouth shut without saying a word and turning her head to the side again. I could see that she was muttering something to her reflection in the window, but I couldn't hear what it was because of the general din caused by other students returning to the class.

A year ago I might have been able to witness the unmistakable signs of boredom and annoyance on Haruhi's face following a discussion like this, but now she again lapsed back into that dull, simmering state of contemplation instead. Very few people could tell the difference, but I had a suspicion that she was currently spending almost all her energy internally, processing some thorny problem that posed an appropriate challenge even for Haruhi.

Somehow, I felt relieved that she didn't deem it necessary to burden me with whatever it was she had in mind. If it was something important I would probably find out soon enough, anyway. I didn't have to be a fortune teller to know that much.

Soon thereafter the teacher arrived and the normal afternoon schedule commenced.

* * *

During the third year of high school I might indeed have my hands full of work with the preparations for university exams, but that milestone was still too far away to start worrying about, and I spent the afternoon hours in a state of halfhearted indolence, like an old, lazy dog basking in the shadow of the front porch of a country house, paying only a nominal amount of attention to the topic of each lesson.

If her overall demeanor was anything to go by, Haruhi was probably even more absent-minded than me, but at least she didn't sleep during the classes as had been her habit during the first year. Then again, she didn't seem to be inclined to share her current thoughts with me either, and I willingly left it at that.

Eventually, the bell rang to announce the end of the last class of the day, which happened to be physics. I was collecting my belongings when I felt a mechanical pencil poking my back.

"Kyon? I'm sure that the next exam will have a problem or two from these last two pages. Check that you've got them covered and you'll be fine."

It was easy for her to say something like that! I looked at the pages in question and noticed that they were full of formulas. I couldn't possibly learn them all even if I used the whole evening reading nothing but physics!

Haruhi stared me as if I had just expressed a desire to join an underwater trombone band.

"Why would you want to do something like that?"

"Didn't you just say that I should remember them for the exam?"

"You're supposed to remember the principle, not the formulas. Here, let me show you."

Haruhi took the book and turned it around. "See, all these questions are the same. You are given some pieces of the puzzle and you must combine them into the one that is asked for. Since it can only be done in one way you can't go wrong."

I'm willing to bet that I can.

"Really, Kyon, this is totally trivial. All I'm asking is a bit of honest effort on your behalf. For example, look at this one. Energy is an unknown, and because it looks like a human….

Haruhi drew a simple stick figure on the page. Oh boy. Sense is a precious thing but this wasn't making any.

"…and we get two legs and one arm from acceleration, you only have to add the height and mass to complete it. There's your formula."

That's not the way the teacher explained it, for sure.

"But isn't it obvious? Look at the units, they're there just to tell which kind of a creature it is."

The only thing that's obvious is that whatever is obvious to Haruhi isn't so for me.

We spent about ten minutes studying the theory of physics according to Haruhi. Once I was able to get the answers right better than by pure chance, Haruhi closed the book and the lecture was over. Most likely I got at least the basic idea nailed down, but somehow it still felt like cheating. I never figured out what Haruhi's haphazard drawings had to do with the whole issue, either.

I thought that we would be going to the club room next, but in the corridor Haruhi turned in the opposite direction.

"Oh, right … Kyon? I've got some errands to run so there won't be an official meeting today. Tell the others that they can leave whenever they want."

"Since when do you have errands that take priority over a club meeting?"

"It's a personal issue that I must take care of; and anyway, as the leader of the brigade it is my prerogative to decide when a meeting is held and when it isn't. I'm going elsewhere which means that the meeting is canceled, isn't that obvious enough?"

Actually, this turn of events suited me perfectly well but I didn't tell that to Haruhi. She headed to the entrance and shouted one final warning before disappearing down the stairs.

"And remember, this is just for today. Failing to be present tomorrow is totally unacceptable and will incur a heavy penalty without exceptions!"

Well, Haruhi skipping a meeting certainly wasn't something that happened every day. On my way to the club room I wondered whether it was the time to start worrying. Probably not. After all, didn't I have my own personal interests to attend to, as well?

As always, I knocked on the door and opened it only after hearing Asahina-san's welcoming greeting. She had already changed into her maid uniform and was just selecting a suitable blend of tea from her personal storage box. Nagato was also present, reading a book in her corner, but at this point it was such a self-evident fact that it took a conscious effort to even notice it.

Asahina-san gave me a happy, innocent smile that momentarily wiped away all my concerns. "Hi Kyon-kun! Um … are you alone?"

"Yes, Haruhi won't be coming today, so we are on our own."

"Huh, why? That's odd…."

Right then Koizumi arrived at the door. Although he tried to look indifferent, I could tell from his uneven breathing that he had been running just a short while ago.

"Suzumiya-san has left the school area?"

"Yes, she said that she's got some personal business to take care of, and that there won't be a meeting today."

"I wonder…."

"I'm usually not the first person to say this, but if you have something on your mind then spit it out."

"Actually, I am not worried at all. Whatever it is, I am sure that Suzumiya-san has a good reason for this. So, shall we close the club for tonight, or is there something else that we should do first?"

Koizumi was again his calm, composed self, but Asahina-san looked slightly worried. "Well … I'm already preparing tea. Maybe we could stay at least until it's ready?"

That sounded like a good idea. It would be a real pity to let it go to waste, especially since it was made by Asahina-san.

Koizumi picked up a pack of cards. "In that case, how about playing some quick game while we wait? As there are four of us here today, we could try bridge this time."

"Um … what is that?"

Seeing Asahina-san's confused expression, Koizumi chuckled. "I was just joking, please ignore me. I am afraid that it would take too long to go through the rules, anyway."

Asahina-san continued her tea brewing ritual and me and Koizumi ended up playing some rounds of five-card draw without bets. It was such a simple game that I could let my mind wander around while playing. Although Haruhi's recent behavior was one of the issues that I couldn't simply ignore, if for no other reason than the knowledge that the consequences would eventually reach me with the inescapable certainty of the Earth rotating around its axis, it was also a long term concern rather than an acute one. Instead, I kept pondering the casual remark made by Tsuruya today.

I remembered that Asahina-san had been depressed earlier this year. I had noticed it and we had discussed the issue, at least to the extent it was possible to have a meaningful conversation without causing some weird temporal paradox by accidentally revealing information that the other shouldn't have known at that point.

I had thought that the situation had been more or less solved and as far as I could tell, at the moment Asahina-san looked like her usual self, or maybe even a bit more cheerful than before. If that was the case then why would Tsuruya suspect that Asahina-san was having some trouble related to the brigade? I couldn't find any apparent reason but there had to be one since Tsuruya wouldn't say such things unless she had noticed something. On the other hand, I couldn't possibly ask Asahina-san about it directly because Tsuruya had specifically told me not to do anything. I just had to keep my eyes open and wait for any further advancements.

When Asahina-san placed my cup of hot tea to the table I was leading Koizumi by five rounds to his three, and he felt compelled to make an observation.

"I think that you should really be more interested in playing poker with proper bets. It still takes me a lot of effort to keep my easygoing facade up but you are naturally talented. Truth to be told, just by looking at your face, one would never be able to tell that you are even playing a game in the first place!"

"There's nothing to be seen on my face because this game completely fails to evoke any passionate urges in me."

"Undoubtedly, it is just as you say. However, one would expect to see at least some minute sign, an involuntary reaction when a player is dealt a particularly good or bad hand."

"Does that even matter? It's just a simple card game and nobody cares who wins." I put my last hand, a flush of clubs against Koizumi's three jacks, on the table which made the final score six to three.

"I see. Maybe I should have chosen the _hanafuda_ cards instead?"

I couldn't even bother asking what Koizumi was insinuating with the oblique remark that he seemed to find somehow amusing.

I picked up my cup and thanked Asahina-san, who was now serving Koizumi on the other side of the table. It was fairly hot in the club room this late in the afternoon, and I noticed that Asahina-san absent-mindedly wiped sweat from her face after giving Koizumi his cup. Now that I thought about it, it had to be rather uncomfortable to wear the maid uniform in this weather, but I couldn't possibly suggest that she switched to something lighter. Beside the fact that my concern would be all too easy to misinterpret, in the worst case Haruhi might hear about it as well and actually make it happen. The maid uniform was at least a rather respectable choice, so any change would likely be to the worse.

Incidentally, that reminded me about the secret _Mikuru_ folder on the club computer. I had finally gathered enough determination and permanently deleted the folder with its contents in late April. It hadn't been an easy decision, but most certainly the right one. If Yasumi could find the folder so easily, then it would be only a matter of time until Haruhi did the same by accident, and that wasn't a risk I was willing to take at this point. Now, after Tsuruya's remark, I actually felt relieved by the knowledge that the compromising photos couldn't be the cause of Asahina-san's trouble, whatever it was.

There was a moment of silence when everybody concentrated on drinking their tea. While I relished the exquisite blend that Asahina-san had chosen for the occasion, there was also a hint of melancholy transience in the atmosphere. On a normal day, unless Haruhi was specifically pushing forward one of her manic projects, she didn't actually do that much beyond being present and occasionally joining a discussion, but still, it was her presence that gave the SOS Brigade its purpose.

Right now I could see very clearly that without Haruhi we were just a group of four high school students, no matter how extraordinary, idly passing their time by drinking tea after school hours. There was nothing wrong with that in itself, but at the same time it felt lacking, fundamentally incomplete. Serene and comfortable but ultimately … _boring_.

Undoubtedly, the me from one year ago would have been shocked to hear myself openly admitting that much.

Oh boy. Just as Taniguchi had said in jest at some point, after the most tumultuous year of my life I was now completely and irrevocably infected by the Suzumiya virus. It had found its way to every cell of my body and I knew that I didn't even want to find a cure.

After I had finished my tea I placed the cup back on the table, and when Asahina-san asked if I wanted some more I declined. For a short while everybody just sat there without saying anything until Nagato closed her book, and the sound of it, like a chairman banging his gavel, marked the termination of this shadow meeting of the brigade. With the usual observances we all adjourned to our own directions, except for Asahina-san, who had to stay behind to clean up the tea equipment and change her clothes.

I noticed that Nagato went directly to the next room where the computer club was located. Those guys would probably be beside themselves with joy for the chance of observing her otherworldly programming skills again, and as long as Nagato herself found that particular diversion satisfying I was completely content with the idea. That she was an absurdly powerful alien and the unwavering protector of the whole brigade didn't remove the fact that she also deserved to have some fun on her own time.

When I got out of the schoolyard I took a deep breath and tried to shake off the lingering concerns like a dog dries its fur after a swim. It was still bright and sunny outside, but since my duties for the day weren't over yet, I set my sights on the next destination.

Fortunately, considering the purpose of my current mission, the Tsuruya estate was not located too far away from North High. In fact, parts of it could even be seen from the slope that I climbed up from Kouyouen on my way to school every morning, so it only took me around fifteen minutes until I was standing in front of the imposing wooden gate of the Tsuruya mansion.

I pushed the button of a modern intercom that had been installed in the wall that surrounded the mansion and waited for reply. It was a hot and humid afternoon; the air was standing still without the slightest breeze and I noticed that I was sweating after the walk along the hillside.

For a good while the only noises that I could hear were the distant hum of the city and the incessant chirping of cicadas. I had already started to wonder whether anybody had even heard the doorbell, but then the intercom was turned on and I heard a familiar voice.

"Smileys! You're on the security camera!"

Tsuruya giggled on the other side of the line as I looked up at the small camera almost completely concealed in a recess above the entrance. After a short while a middle-aged female servant opened the gate for me and led me through the front yard to the entrance hall where Tsuruya was waiting, still in her school uniform.

"You're early, I only just arrived myself."

"Haruhi had to go somewhere so we didn't have a meeting today."

"Is that so? Looks like you might not be the only one who gots ideas, then. It pleases me greatly to see that things are going well!"

"I don't know anything about that. I'm only doing this to avoid drawing any unwanted attention."

Hearing this, the high-spirited upperclassman burst into a riotous laughter and gave me a friendly slap on the shoulder.

"Just keep saying that and we'll all be happy, nyoro? Follow me."

She took a pair of outdoor shoes and we walked around the main house to a smaller side building that was more like a shed or garage holding miscellaneous garden tools. Tsuruya introduced me to an elderly man who was currently sorting through the equipment.

"This is Hakase-san, the estate gardener. He already knows what you're looking for and will show you around. I must go and change clothes but if you need anything else just let me know. Laters!"

After I had properly thanked Tsuruya for her courtesy she disappeared into the house and I was left with the gardener, who observed me appraisingly — as if I were a particularly unruly sapling in dire need of some pruning. He hadn't so far said a single word that I'd heard. The contrast to Tsuruya's cheery babbling couldn't have been stronger.

I was starting to feel uncomfortable. Tsuruya seemed to take this idea much more seriously than me, and her comments made me reconsider the wisdom in making the decision in the first place; however, it was too late to back off now as I was here already. The taciturn gardener rummaged through his tools and came up with a small shovel and a squat, unadorned clay pot that he gave to me before heading out with the minimal amount of instruction.

"This way."

I carried the equipment and followed the short man whose head was almost completely bald on the top and glistened in the bright sunlight. We walked in a leisurely pace past the buildings and gardens of the main complex into the forest behind the mansion. I had been on the estate grounds during the treasure hunt in February but as far as I could tell we weren't going in the direction of that mountain now. Instead, we went downhill to a vale between the surrounding hills and once we arrived at a small natural pond surrounded by a thicket I immediately saw that it was the exactly right place.

The gardener made a slight gesture with his hand, indicating that I was free to choose what I wanted. I walked around the pond until I found something that closely matched my preconceived idea, and when I looked at the gardener he gave me a small approving nod. After some digging and manual adjustment the pot was properly filled and I could wash my hands in the pond. We then walked the same route back to the mansion, where I gave the shovel to the gardener and thanked him cordially for his effort.

Well, that wasn't too much trouble after all.

However, I still had to walk all the way back to North High carrying my new trophy, and although the load wasn't terribly heavy I was already tired and sweating profusely by the time I finally reached the club room and could put down the pot and its contents. Oh boy, I didn't need Haruhi to task me with pointless errands any more because after a full year of training I managed to get involved with them all by myself!

I poured some water in the pot and left the club room the second and final time for the day.

Having completed the task that I had heedlessly convinced myself to undertake, I went home for dinner. Nothing worth mentioning happened that evening, at least as far as I was aware of, and I went to bed in a cautiously optimistic mood. On the whole, it hadn't been too bad a day, and if there wasn't anything significantly worse looming in the horizon then this might turn out to be a perfectly fine summer after all.

One can always hope, right?


	2. Prologue II

The next day was a Thursday.

When looking at the events of this summer with hindsight and trying to pick a definite moment when things started to go awry I might be inclined to choose this day; of course, I couldn't see that by the time. Perhaps more than anything else my shortsightedness was caused by the fact that the threat to the recently achieved and much cherished balance came from a direction I could never have foreseen — but then again, based on the way in which everything eventually unraveled I must assume that neither could anybody else.

Indeed, it's quite probable that I wouldn't have believed it even if I had received a written statement from my future self, personally delivered by a certain adorable time traveler, so in the end my ignorance didn't even matter that much. Events proceeded with the inexorable force of a mountain glacier; all things considered, I sincerely believe that I did my best.

But all of that was still ahead, and my morning started with the loud noise of a door swinging open and hitting the wall, followed by a cheerful greeting.

"Good morning, Kyon-kun!"

My little sister rushed into the room in her pajamas and caught Shamisen from the bed before the cat got an opportunity to slip away. I rubbed my eyes and picked up the alarm clock, noticing that because of this unsolicited intrusion I had just missed ten minutes of perfectly fine sleeping time.

"Hey, what have I told you about knocking first?"

The impenitent intruder ignored my reproach and hugged the struggling cat. "Shami, Shami, a big, droopy cat-pillow! Why can't _I_ have him with me while I sleep?"

"You toss and turn so much in your sleep that it would scare the cat away. Besides, he's not a pillow, and you better not try to use him as one or you'll get scratches."

"But he's so warm and soft!"

She took a couple of dance steps around the room until the fretfully protesting cat finally managed to escape from her smothering embrace and disappeared downstairs in a blur like a furry cruise missile. That didn't reduce my sister's overflowing vigor a bit.

"Anyway, get up, Kyon-kun! It's almost breakfast time! It's going to be a really fine day, and mom has promised to take me and Miyoko to the shopping center after school."

"Good for you. If you're feeling so energetic then why don't you go feed the cat and let me wake up at my own pace?"

My sister skipped out of the room singing some pop song that I didn't recognize, and I shut off the now redundant alarm clock. Oh boy, little sisters….

It was really hard to believe that my sister was as old as Miyoko, who had always been polite and mindful, behaving like somebody much older than her actual age; especially during this last year it had become rather evident that her body was also catching up in maturity. My sister, then, was in all respects her polar opposite. Despite their differences the two got along very well, and I could only hope that eventually some of Miyoko's admirable qualities would rub off on my sister as well.

I completed my morning routines and left for school a bit earlier than usual, deciding to spend the spare time by walking at a more leisurely pace. My sister had been right; although there was a thin layer of haze in the air it dissipated by the time I reached the top of the hill. Other than that it looked like we would be having another perfectly clear and sunny day.

Arriving at the classroom, I noticed that Haruhi had again been faster than me. She was looking out of the window as usual, but unlike yesterday there was a large sports bag under her desk. There wouldn't be PE today, so it had to be something else.

I greeted her the same way as every morning and sat on my own seat. As I rummaged through my school bag to find the proper book I suddenly became aware of a very meaningful, _observant_ silence behind my back. However, I kept paying studious attention to the contents of my bag, almost certain of what would happen next; I was soon proven right. Is it possible that you're becoming predictable, Haruhi?

"Was that all you're going to say?"

I turned around to look at the person who had asked this question. She was resting her head on one hand and watching me intently, with a complex expression on her face. Anticipation, excitement and perhaps something else as well, in any case a definite step up from yesterday. I decided to try my luck.

"I see that you've brought an extra bag to school."

"True, but that's not what I meant."

"Well then, I seem to remember that it's the first day of shousho today."

"Probably true, but irrelevant."

"At least it can't be your birthday."

"Of course it isn't! Hey, wait a second…."

Haruhi furrowed her brow as she caught up with my little ploy. "You're doing this on purpose and know fully well which day it is today!"

"And what if I do? Doesn't it only mean that I'm getting better at predicting your inclinations, just as you have requested?"

"It's not nearly enough to just know about things, you should _act_ on them, too! I should give you five points of demerit for a deliberate lack of effort!"

As long as Haruhi's reward points weren't accepted as legal tender by any institution I was aware of I couldn't really care about the balance sheet of my account. Besides, even if Haruhi tried to look annoyed I could tell that she really wasn't; quite obviously, she had some idea that she wasn't willing to share as of yet, and that was making her so excited that she could barely sit still.

It looked like Tsuruya had been right in assuming that Haruhi was planning something. Oh well, I could only hope that it wouldn't be anything too bothersome this time.

"Of course, as the leader of the brigade it's my responsibility to make sure that all the essential issues are properly taken care of, but it doesn't mean that I should be the one doing all the legwork! After vision and determination, the ability to delegate work is the most important aspect of leadership."

So much for that hope, then.

"However, like any reasonable leader, I wouldn't even dream of demanding more of my subordinates than what I demand of myself."

Saying something like that doesn't help at all! Nobody can keep up with your energy level, and you should know that by now.

"Nothing awesome ever happens if we don't make it happen. Just keep your eyes on the goal, and you'll find reserves that you weren't even aware of before."

Somehow, this pep talk was having the exactly opposite effect than intended. My concept of an ideal day didn't entail going for a limit break! Oh boy, it looked like I'd better start gathering those reserves right away.

"What's with the defeatist attitude? It's going to be fun!"

What is fun for Haruhi is all too often an experience somewhere between consternation and outright panic for everybody else, but I couldn't make an argument to that effect because at that moment Okabe-sensei arrived to start the homeroom session. As we stood up I could hear Haruhi muttering something behind my back, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

* * *

Nothing worth mentioning happened during the morning classes. After the initial conversation Haruhi hadn't been interested in talking about anything in particular; from the look of it the pensive spell had once again taken hold of her mind. The aura of anticipation that had been clearly visible at first had faded to the background; like an overcast day, only through the eyes of intuition could one see that somewhere behind the clouds the Sun was still shining and would eventually reveal itself again.

On a normal day, the beginning of the lunch break was marked by Haruhi bolting out of the class to get a good seat at the cafeteria. That's why I was genuinely surprised when this time I couldn't hear the usual clatter behind my back as the bell rang. I turned my head and saw that Haruhi was again staring out of the window without any apparent intent to leave the room. She noticed my questioning look and turned to face me.

"Not hungry."

"Then you won't mind if I eat here?"

"Go ahead."

I picked up my _bento_ box and turned the chair so that I could talk with Haruhi while eating. Taniguchi and Kunikida who usually joined my company during the lunch break saw the situation and decided that it was in their best interest to stay out of it; I wasn't going to blame them for that.

Haruhi pinched a prune from my bento and started to chew it while looking at me appraisingly.

"Say, Kyon, do you ever wonder why you do the things you do?"

That came out of nowhere!

"Just answer the question."

Honestly, there were days when most of my time was spent doing exactly that, and the person directly responsible for this state of affairs was sitting in front of me right now! However, I sensed an unusual degree of sincerity in Haruhi's voice as if the question had some specific significance to her; the snappy retort I had in mind suddenly started to feel out of place, and I decided to try something else.

"I guess that introspection is a completely human trait. There are even schools of meditation based on that, which tells us that it should be beneficial to be mindful of one's own motives."

"I wasn't expecting something that abstract."

Haruhi shuffled her hands before continuing.

"I've noticed that some of the things I used to look forward to feel rather insignificant now, and instead, some other things have become more important. Shouldn't important things stay important regardless? Otherwise, aren't they something that only looks important but really isn't? Or maybe it's just that the new things are even more important than the old ones?"

Haruhi was having second thoughts? Now that was exquisite!

"We should be able to trust our intuition by default, but if it changes over time then isn't there a danger of veering off course? Even a tiny error can grow over time until it becomes too large to neglect. Therefore we should always have a clear goal to strive for."

And she was accusing _me_ of being too abstract?

"And even then, if we just do whatever we've always done, then doesn't it mean that we're not truly free, and are held prisoner by our own habits instead? Shouldn't we face each challenge as if we were seeing everything the very first time, without any prejudices? Isn't that the only way to avoid getting stuck in a rut?"

I looked at the girl who seemed to be lost in her thoughts and realized that her words had managed to take me by surprise. There wasn't any question about it — Haruhi was growing up. The difference between her and the singularly assertive girl from one year ago who didn't even get the whole concept of introspection was so great that anybody could see that; apparently now even Haruhi herself.

She had been isolated from all social contacts for so long that she hadn't had any points of reference for comparison; her own opinion had been the absolute truth for her, and she had even been unable to grasp the fact that somebody else didn't see things the same way she did. Now that Haruhi had friends again her worldview was being challenged by all the new experiences. She had to catch up with everything that she had been missing, even if the process was difficult.

I knew that she would succeed because I had seen it with my own eyes. Or rather, she was succeeding already.

But what should I reply? There had been too many difficult questions, and all the answers that came to my mind felt too trite and callous for the occasion. Why couldn't these situations ever come with a warning so that I could be better prepared?

At that point I noticed that I had been trying so hard to find a good reply that I had stopped eating.

Haruhi was looking at me with an amused expression on her face. "Aren't you going to finish your lunch?"

It's your fault that I got distracted.

Haruhi chuckled at my excuse, and her mood seemed to improve. Maybe she hadn't even expected any specific answers to her questions, and was just happy to have somebody listening when she talked about them. If these were the kind of thoughts she had been mulling over recently then it wasn't any wonder that she had felt somewhat low in spirits.

Haruhi didn't return to the issues she had just mentioned, but kept talking idly about other things. I learned that she was still tutoring that bespectacled boy from her neighborhood and was really proud of his progress. Who knows, maybe she'd really have wanted to have a little brother?

Anyway, it looked like the situation had normalized, at least for the time being, and I was tempted to hope that the rest of the day would go just as smoothly.

This just underlines the fact that sometimes I can still sorely underestimate Haruhi's abilities.

* * *

When the last class of the day neared conclusion I suddenly noticed a critical weakness in the idea I had gotten yesterday. If Haruhi ran off as soon as the class was over it would spoil the whole thing, but if I tried to stop her she would become suspicious, and that would be just as bad. Damn, why hadn't I thought about it earlier so that I could've come up with some excuse to keep her with me until we got to the club room?

I was still trying to find an acceptable solution to this problem when the bell rang, but to my immediate relief Haruhi didn't have any intent to leave. Instead, she chose a book from her bag.

"Don't forget that the term end exams start on Monday. From now on, we'll have to double the effort in order to get you through with passable grades."

We spent the next ten minutes by studying English prepositions, a topic that wouldn't have been that inspiring even without other pressing issues in my mind. However, I couldn't think too much about the awaiting problem, as Haruhi noticed my lack of concentration and demanded that I should pay more attention.

Once we were done with the topic Haruhi grabbed her bag and announced: "Okay, let's go to the club room, the others must be waiting already. Take the sports bag as well."

So, I didn't have to find any excuse after all. It looked like it was my lucky day today!

I lifted the bag and noticed that it was rather heavy.

"What have you got in here, bricks?"

"Never mind the content, just remember that it's fragile. Be careful so that you don't break anything!"

Haruhi marched through the corridor in long strides, and I tried to keep up with her pace. That was easier said than done on any normal day, and doubly so with my burden. It was quite fortunate that our class was much closer to the club room now. Besides, I could hardly complain, since everything seemed to be working as well as one could hope.

After the last flight of stairs Haruhi slammed the club door open and stormed into the room with all the confidence of a feudal lord returning to his castle, shouting her usual cheerful greeting that didn't contain any hint of that recent streak of pensive reflection that I had noticed. I followed in her tracks, carrying the extra baggage, and almost bumped into Haruhi when she suddenly stopped cold, her attention drawn to an object that was occupying a prominent place on the brigade chief's table.

"What's that?"

Looks like a bamboo to me.

"I know that it's a bamboo, but who brought it here? Mikuru-chan?"

Asahina-san, who had been setting up her tea brewing equipment, looked genuinely puzzled. "Um … it was here when I arrived today, but not yesterday when we left, and I was the last one to leave because I had to change clothes…."

Haruhi turned her gaze to Koizumi who shrugged apologetically. "I must admit that this issue has grabbed my interest as well, but alas, at the moment I am not able to provide any insight into it."

When Nagato sensed that she was the next and probably last person on the list of Haruhi's potential suspects she just shook her head slightly without even raising her gaze from the book that she was reading.

Maybe somebody is concerned about the wellbeing of nearby plantings, and has decided to take preventive measures to reduce casual pillaging?

Hearing this, Haruhi turned around with a perplexed expression on her face, mouth halfway open but apparently unable to decide what to say. I put on my best deadpan impression. If this was going to reduce into a staring contest then my long and arduous training had not been in vain.

However, Haruhi rallied almost immediately, and confusion gave room to a devilishly triumphant grin that I knew all too well already because it indicated that she had just gotten a idea. She looked me directly in the eyes with ferocious intensity, like a _bakeneko_ that had seen a new prey to toy with, and made an exclamation.

"You're right! It means that we are finally receiving _recognition_!"

I'm not sure whether that's the kind of recognition I'd be looking forward to.

Ignoring my comment, Haruhi rubbed her hands in glee and paraded through the room to her rightful place behind the computer table. Did she really accept my frivolous explanation just like that?

Quite frankly, the situation had momentarily been too close for comfort, which almost made me regret my earlier decision. Maybe I hadn't thought it all the way through, but it still seemed to be my lucky day since everything went well despite my lack of foresight.

I left the bags by the door and took my seat opposite Koizumi who watched me with poorly concealed interest. Keep looking as long as you want and figure it out yourself if you can, there won't be any additional explanations forthcoming!

Haruhi examined the latest decoration of the SOS club room carefully before giving it an approving nod.

"This bamboo is even better than the one we had last year! Very well, then, let's get this meeting started. As everybody should know by now, it's Tanabata today, and it's our responsibility to make it an unforgettable experience. We should start by reviewing last year's wishes before making any new ones. I've got the old _tanzaku_ right here."

The old bamboo branch from last Tanabata had dried up between terms; it had been thrown away, but apparently Haruhi had decided to keep the tanzaku regardless of how pointless that was.

"Mikuru-chan, have you become better at cooking and sewing?"

"Um, I'm not sure, really. There's always room for improvement…."

"You're too modest. If you are approaching those tasks with the same diligence that you've shown with tea brewing then there should definitely be visible results."

"Well, if you put it that way…."

"Good, good, we can file this one under 'promising'. Well done, Mikuru-chan! Koizumi-kun, how are your wishes?"

"I am glad to say that my family has indeed been enjoying a period of peace and prosperity lately. On the other hand world peace doesn't seem to be any closer than a year ago."

"Hmm, one out of two, that's not bad at all. Great, this seems to be working. Yuki, reform and harmony?"

"Yes."

Haruhi turned her attention from the slips of paper to the quiet bookworm who kept reading some old, hardcover book until noticing that more was expected of her.

"There has been a reform. The current state is harmonious."

"Really? I must say that I'm impressed. You're setting an example for us all!"

Haruhi took the next paper from the pile and grimaced as if having bitten a mouthful from a particularly sour apple.

"Kyon?"

"You know just as well as I do that I don't have a new house or wads of cash lying around. Why don't you look at your own wishes first?"

"My wishes are much more ambitious than yours, so it stands to reason that they'll take more time to fulfill. The issue here is that you aren't even trying!"

What's the point of wishing if you have to work for it in any case?

"You cannot expect gods to grant a wish so unimportant that you don't even believe in it yourself. Isn't that obvious?"

Haruhi stared the slips of paper dubiously for a moment before giving her final verdict. "Fine! There's clearly room for improvement, and more of it for some of us than for the others. It's time to write down new wishes; make sure that they're good ones!"

Haruhi handed out two empty tanzaku to everybody. I looked at mine with misgivings; certainly, this was just as pointless as before.

I couldn't even bother coming up with anything plausible to write down and preferred to watch as the others worked on their own wishes. To my surprise I saw that Haruhi wasn't writing anything either, and instead just sat there chewing her pencil, looking ill at ease. She stole a glance in my direction and certainly noticed that I was slacking, but didn't say anything. I'd never have thought that Haruhi could have difficulties with deciding what she wanted!

After a moment of silence Haruhi slammed her hand on the table, startling Asahina-san, who had been concentrating on her task admirably.

"A change of plans! If we just discard those wishes that haven't been fulfilled yet it will look like we weren't serious enough to begin with, and that's unacceptable. Thus, everybody should replace only those wishes that have already been fulfilled."

There seemed to be something in the situation that was bothering Haruhi, but I didn't pay much attention to it; I just couldn't take the whole thing as seriously as she apparently did. Anyway, this just _had_ to be my lucky day, as Haruhi's change of mind meant that I didn't have to do anything!

In the end, Asahina-san decided to keep the wish about cooking and added another one asking for happy memories, Koizumi wished for acuity in recognizing new opportunities and Nagato's wishes were just as abstract as before. Insight and resolution? How could you even tell when such wishes were fulfilled?

We watched the decorated bamboo for a moment; I couldn't help wondering how the bygone year could at the same time feel so incredibly long and still pass by so fast. By all accounts, there should be a contradiction somewhere in that.

Anyway, was that all for today?

Haruhi looked at me incredulously, as if I had been a foot-soldier who dared to tell his commander that they should desert their assigned positions.

"Of course not, that was just the first objective! We should strive to improve our traditions every year, so let's go downtown to see the local Tanabata festivities. Take the sports bag as well."

So much for my lucky day. Oh boy!

* * *

We walked down to Kouyouen and left our school bags in a locker by the station. Haruhi insisted that the extra bag should be taken with us, and the name of the person given that assignment didn't come as a surprise to anybody. It might have felt a bit more worthwhile if I had at least known what I was carrying.

After taking the local train to Shukugawa we headed to the shopping area. There were some streamers and other decorations here and there, though certainly not to the same extent as in those cities that are famous for their Tanabata festival. Of course, this didn't hinder our intrepid leader the least, as she had clearly decided that we were going to have fun no matter what.

Haruhi stopped in front of a makeshift stand that had baked goods for sale, and after giving a cursory inspection to the offerings turned to me.

"Hey Kyon, buy me a _kaiten-yaki_!"

Actually, I didn't remember having any outstanding penalties that would compel me to do that.

"Does it always have to be a penalty? I was just giving you an opportunity to earn some sorely needed points through supporting your brigade leader, so that she isn't too hungry to fulfill her responsibilities. But if you insist, then maybe I can think of something you've neglected."

"You might consider that a carrot but all I can see is a stick. Anyway, it's not my fault that you skipped lunch today."

"I wasn't hungry back then but now I am."

Doesn't that girl plan ahead for even one half of a day? Wait, don't answer that question because it's completely rhetorical.

I noticed the anticipative expression of our formidable but impulsive brigade chief who seemed to be permanently unable to ask nicely when she wanted something, and got the impression that she had something specific in mind, as if this was some kind of a test. However, I wasn't certain whether I liked either of the available options.

She was most likely telling the truth about being hungry. Considering the amount of food she could usually devour in one go it was only to be expected by now since she hadn't eaten anything during the lunch break. Furthermore, to be quite honest I thought that I should probably feel at least marginally indebted for all the tutoring Haruhi had recently provided at school without asking anything particular in return. From that point of view I could just as well give in a bit here and leave any lessons in manners or proper nutritional balance for some later time, but still, there was something in it….

According to a placard on the table kaiten-yaki were sold at 450 yen for five. I looked at the placard for a moment before realizing what to do. Now that I thought about it, there hadn't indeed been many penalties lately, but as far as I could see the reason for that couldn't be anything that I had done or failed to do since I hadn't certainly gotten more punctual during the last year. In any case, at the moment I could certainly buy a pack of five cakes without having to worry about my finances.

Haruhi watched me with a victorious grin on her face while the stand keeper wrapped the items in a paper parcel that I then gave to Haruhi with the appropriate piece of advice.

"Since I bought this many then at least share them, except for all I care Koizumi can buy his own if he wants one."

Hearing that, Koizumi just shrugged nonchalantly. "Thanks for the sentiment, but I think that I will pass this time."

Haruhi gave me an odd look but seemed to be satisfied with the outcome, and offered one of the cakes to Nagato, who was standing silently behind us. She examined the cake as if never having seen one before and took it without saying anything. Haruhi then picked one for herself and headed to Asahina-san who was looking at some posters on the display of a nearby travel agency.

"Ah, what's this, a sweet cake? Why, thank you!"

Asahina-san accepted the offer with a smile that was dangerously cute even when seen from a distance. Who knows, I might be more inclined to entertain Haruhi's requests if she could learn such manners as well … and anyway, your gratitude is misguided, Asahina-san. Although Haruhi couldn't bother to mention the fact, it was me who bought those cakes!

Munching her cake, Haruhi then turned her attention to the display that Asahina-san had been watching.

"Is there something interesting in here?"

"I was just looking … Hawaii seems to be an amazing place. I have never seen a volcano that's still active…."

That innocent remark made me wonder how far away from the future Asahina-san was again if she saw a volcano as something exotic.

Haruhi seemed to give a serious consideration to Asahina-san's unvoiced wish. "Well, a volcano is rather unusual and all that, but it isn't really _mysterious_, at least unless there's a hidden alien base or possibly some forgotten fauna from the Cretaceous period inside. Now that would be worth investigating, but when you think about it, if the volcano is still active it reduces the chances of finding something like that quite dramatically."

The lesser the chances of unexpectedly finding myself face-to-face with a ravenous velociraptor the better! And anyway, where did all this sudden interest in volcanology come from?

The whole brigade had now gathered in front of the display. To my mild surprise, even Nagato seemed to find the topic interesting and examined the advertisements with unblinking intensity. Was I the only person here who wasn't dreaming of exotic and — most crucially — dangerous places?

Haruhi's expression suddenly changed into something much more impish as she continued: "On the other hand, I'm sure that Hawaii would be a suitable place for taking some really great photos. Just think about all the costumes that you could wear there, Mikuru-chan!"

"Uh … what? Ehh…."

Why do you have to say something like that, Haruhi! Asahina-san's resigned sigh only made the situation worse, and I couldn't help thinking of images where grass skirts and colorful wreaths of flowers featured prominently … well, those, and not much else, which gave my current state of mind a rating that was far beyond anything suitable for a public space. Please accept my sincerest apologies for having such depraved thoughts, Asahina-san!

My train of thought was interrupted as abruptly as it had started when I noticed that Haruhi had stopped eating her cake. She stared at me from under her eyebrows like a particularly unimpressed crocodile that had just raised its head above the water level in the otherwise serene lagoon of my tropical paradise. Can that girl read my mind?

"Kyon? You're grinning."

You're the one who brought the whole issue up!

At various points in the past when the circumstances and Haruhi's antics had conspired to make me look like an accidental pervert she had been livid, but the mood that I could sense right now seemed to be something else altogether. Without that purposeful expression on her face I might have said that she found the whole situation amusing.

"Isn't it great that we're all having a good time, then?"

It sounded innocent enough but there was just the slightest hint of caveat in her voice. Having said that, Haruhi considered the issue closed and marched away with brisk steps as if nothing had happened, even humming a tune as she walked down the street. As the rest of us hurried after her Asahina-san stole a cautious glance at me, and I shrugged in response. If Haruhi was in particularly high spirits today then all we could do was to enjoy the sunny spell as long as it lasted.

As with any other brigade outing, we walked around the shopping district without any apparent goal. Because of my extra load, I didn't mind falling a bit behind the others, as that saved me from most of the meandering. After a while Koizumi decided to join my company, if for no other reason than to share his latest observations as if I had asked him to inform me about them.

"So far this has been a most interesting day, would you not agree?"

You're using the word 'interesting' in a sense that I don't seem to be familiar with.

"As I have mentioned before, to the casual observer it might appear to be the case that Suzumiya-san's actions are inadvertent and haphazard, but in reality there is a clear purpose behind everything that she does. I know fully well that you and I are in a constant disagreement over this fact, and therefore I am not even trying to argue my point; that is not even what I am thinking about right now. Instead, in the light of recent events, I am wondering whether the same could be said about you."

There's nothing haphazard in my actions nor any hidden motives to talk about. I'm just trying to get through the day with my sanity intact, and in this particular case without getting my shoulder strained. Speaking of which, why won't you make yourself useful and lug this bag around for a while?

"I couldn't possibly do that. Whatever the contents of that bag are, it is unquestionable that there is something so important in there that Suzumiya-san doesn't trust anybody else than you to carry it for her."

More likely she has just pegged me down as the bottom-tier errand boy of the club, as usual.

"Do you really believe so? Anyway, we are digressing. The specific question that I wanted to pose is: how does the unexpected appearance of a bamboo plant at the clubroom fit into the picture I just described?"

"Beats me. What makes you think that I have something to do with it?"

"That would appear to be a valid question. After all, it is not typical of you to take a sudden initiative in such a matter. Maybe I am simply mistaken and reading too much into it. So, you are saying that sometimes a bamboo is just a bamboo and nothing else, am I right?"

I couldn't care to answer anything to such a loaded question, and Koizumi didn't push the issue any further because the girls had stopped in front of some shop and were now within earshot distance of us. What was he insinuating, anyway? I hadn't bought Haruhi a bouquet of roses or anything like that, so I didn't owe an explanation to anybody and especially not to Koizumi! There really wasn't anything to it.

I was absorbed in my thoughts when I suddenly noticed that Haruhi was standing next to me, holding the packet of kaiten-yaki in her outstretched hand. What was it this time?

"I've eaten as much as I can already, so I'm sharing the rest just as you wished. After all, it was you who bought them so you should get some, too."

I took the suspiciously light packet and inspected its contents.

"There's only one half-eaten cake left?"

"Many people around the world would be only too happy to have any food at all, not to mention a completely fine piece of fresh cake. I'm not taking it back, so if you don't eat it yourself then you can just throw it away."

"That's not the issue here."

Haruhi kept staring as if waiting for my next move. I wasn't sure why this piece of cake was suddenly so important for her, but once again I didn't find either of the given options too enticing. I wrapped the paper around the cake and put it in the side pocket of my jacket.

"As you can see, I'll keep it just in case I should suddenly find a need for a half-eaten cake — and if I won't, it may eventually become a coveted piece of memorabilia bearing the bite marks of the famous leader of the SOS Brigade! What do you know, it looks like a win-win situation for me."

"Stupid."

With a single word that she seemingly muttered to the world in general rather than to me in particular Haruhi dropped the issue, and thus I forgot it as well for the time being.

* * *

Nothing out of ordinary happened during the next couple of hours. At some point we bought some drinks from a grocery store; Haruhi didn't even ask me to pay hers, but said that everybody should check that they had some spare five-yen coins on them. She refused to give any reason for this random request, and once the issue had been confirmed to her satisfaction we continued the round.

By sunset I felt exhausted under my burden; my feet were aching like those of an unpracticed wayfarer who had heedlessly made the pledge to walk through the eighty-eight temple pilgrimage of Koubou Daishi. I was hoping that the excursion would be over soon, but our relentless brigade chief had other plans in her mind.

"Since we are here, let's visit Ebessan and pray for good fortune!"

This was said by a girl who could most likely create — all by herself — as much fortune as she would ever need.

The great shrine area called Ebessan was in the immediate vicinity of the city center, spanning an entire block with its associated gardens. Although the primary festival of Ebisu was in January the area was also decorated during the summer festival season, making it a popular attraction for visitors from all over the prefecture.

As we approached the area I noticed that there was a large stand near the entrance with a set of lanterns arranged into a _kanji_ meaning 'fortune', befitting Ebisu's status as one of the seven gods of fortune. After we had walked through the _torii_ and observed the proper cleansing rituals, we could also see that the entire enclosure had been illuminated with lanterns that were evenly distributed on the ground all over the gardens.

Asahina-san seemed to be particularly impressed by the sight, and her childlike enthusiasm was very adorable to behold. I was secretly happy that Haruhi had the decency to not bring up the topic of _miko_ costumes this time, although I had to admit that any shrine receiving the unique fortune of having Asahina-san as a shrine maiden would have to reserve some additional offering boxes for the money that people would certainly give in spades.

We walked to the offering hall of the shrine, rang the bell and prayed for good fortune after putting some money in the box. While that might have been enough in a normal situation, Haruhi wasn't satisfied by anything less than a full repertoire.

"Of course, we must get _omikuji_ as well!"

So, that's what the five-yen coins were for. It looked like she had this whole thing planned from the beginning. We all took a fortune from the stand and unrolled the paper slips to see the divination. I was only halfway through when Haruhi already announced hers.

"_Dai-kichi_! I got a great blessing for my wish becoming true."

Honestly, did somebody really expect anything else? I got mine opened and found out that I was going to have bad luck with romantic relationships. Oh well, whatever.

Unable to restrain her curiosity, Haruhi leaned closer to have a look at my fortune and grimaced like a duck when she saw the verdict. "That won't do at all! Tie the curse to the wires and get a new fortune."

"I don't want to look like an opportunist, and besides, who says that I even care about random fortunes concerning romantic relationships?"

"That's a totally unacceptable attitude! Traditions are there for a reason."

Haruhi dragged me to the wire wall, took my paper slip and tied it there. I still thought that it was just a clever ruse to make people buy more fortunes, but promised to get a new one anyway if it was so important to Haruhi.

While I opened my second fortune the other brigade members told what they had gotten. Apparently, Koizumi would have luck with his business relations, Asahina-san with a person she was looking for, and Nagato was going to find auspicious directions. This time I was promised moderate luck with my studies, and because that seemed to pass Haruhi's muster I didn't have to get yet another fortune.

This all only goes to show that omikuji shouldn't be taken too seriously.

After the minimal formalities had been completed Haruhi said that we should spend some time going around the shrine area, enjoying the decorations. Certainly, the area was much larger than what could be seen from just one point, so we wandered leisurely around the place among other visitors that weren't too numerous this early in the evening, as it was not a public holiday today.

I wasn't particularly inspired by the scenery; lanterns were certainly pretty when spread between the trees like fireflies, but they were just lanterns — once you had seen one you had seen them all. Even more importantly, I was still carrying Haruhi's bag without even knowing why, and therefore preferred to stand in one place while the others walked around. It was getting dark now, and the first stars were appearing on the indigo sky, mirroring the scene on the ground.

Thus, I was on my own when I suddenly noticed a familiar figure walking away from me, toward the far end of the shrine area. She was at some distance and had her back turned at me, but I was pretty certain that I recognized her. I hadn't seen her since April, so what was she doing here now? I looked around but couldn't see the other brigade members nearby; after a moment of hesitation I decided to pursue the unexpected person, as her presence bothered me more than anything else that I had seen today. There were certain questions I wanted to ask her.

This part of the shrine area had many trees, large bushes and rocks that reduced visibility. I could see a glimpse of the person I was following a couple of times before she disappeared behind the bushes again. Finally, she seemed to take a route into a garden that was so overgrown there were no branches from the single path through it. I picked up my pace as now I could easily catch up with her.

I followed the path through the garden but found out soon that it didn't lead anywhere beyond a small opening. I was completely alone and would have noticed if somebody had tried to escape through the shrubbery, which meant that I had either imagined everything, or the person whom I had been trailing had just disappeared in thin air.

The whole situation made me feel a bit silly. Had I gotten so bored with the safe, ordinary life that I had finally found that now I had to deliberately go out of my way to seek trouble?

Oh well, whatever. I decided to ignore the whole thing and headed back to the central complex, taking a shortcut through an area that had several ponds joined together into a harmonious piece of scenery. When I arrived at the bridge I noticed that there was a band of submerged blue lights laid down in a large circle at the bottom of the ponds, making them look like a mirror image of the Milky Way.

I stopped on the bridge to appreciate the unexpected sight and stood there in momentary contemplation when I heard somebody approaching from the direction of the shrines, running. The person soon came in clear view, and I realized that I had subconsciously recognized her just by the sound of her steps. Come to think about it, who else would run around at a place like this?

Haruhi slowed down to a brisk walk and looked just as surprised to find me here as I had been a moment ago when I hadn't found anybody at all.

"Kyon? Did you see somebody running this way just before me?"

I certainly hadn't seen, and as far as I knew there wasn't anybody else than us two at this part of the garden. Well, it was technically a true statement, and I couldn't possibly tell her what I had seen myself.

Haruhi furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment and looked around the area.

"I could have sworn that I just saw…."

Stepping on the bridge, she noticed the lights in the pond and stopped to watch the scene as well. I could tell from her expression that she was discontented with the latest turn of events, but I didn't want to give Haruhi any reason to continue this wild goose chase, so I just stood there without saying a word and waited for her to give up. I didn't even want to think of the possible consequences of Haruhi starting to believe that there was something extraordinary going on around shrine grounds, out of all places!

However, at the moment I probably felt just as puzzled as she did. Exactly what was it that had happened, and why? I was a bit worried about the possible implications but the prudent thing right now was undeniably to stay put and avoid drawing any attention to it. Isn't it so that you could summon misfortune just by saying its name?

After a moment of silence Haruhi did indeed lighten up, as if remembering something more interesting than the mystery of a vanishing person, and turned to me with a mischievous smile on her face. Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about the whole situation, and as it turned out to be, I was not mistaken to think that way.

"Hey Kyon, help me rearrange the lanterns in the main garden."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course! I'm always dead serious!"

"I can't even begin to fathom why you would want to do something like that! Besides, we would be thrown out before getting even halfway through the task."

Haruhi pouted at my obvious lack of enthusiasm. "It isn't the least bit difficult to overcome such simple obstacles if you only care to use your imagination! But don't worry, I got it figured out already. We can create some diversion to give us enough time, or in a pinch we could just wait until the official opening hours are over before sneaking back in."

"And what after that, get arrested for trespassing? No thanks, count me out of your delinquent plans."

"You're supposed to support your brigade chief when she needs help!"

"The brigade doesn't have anything to do with the issue! I don't think that the club charter says anything about pulling pranks when it lands you in trouble with law enforcement!"

Haruhi grunted in exasperation and turned away from me, arms crossed and her mouth pursed into an acute triangle. It didn't take master level skills in the art of interpreting Haruhi's moods to see that she was annoyed and frustrated, but this time it was a disposition I readily shared with her. How does that girl come up with all these harebrained schemes that are nothing but trouble?

The situation had taken a turn for the worse so rapidly that I didn't even know exactly how it happened. We both stood still for a good while until Haruhi finally decided to break the silence. She didn't move her gaze away from the pond; however, instead of angry, the tone of her voice was surprisingly regretful.

"You know, I was going to tell you about it at a suitable moment but I guess that it doesn't matter if it's all a prank to you."

I had a nasty premonition that I was going to regret what I had just said, but unfortunately, real life still lacks some rather basic features like save points and undo buttons — at least if you don't happen to be a certain reality warper.

Haruhi had a pensive look in her eyes as she continued. "I've always liked all festivals as long as they are properly celebrated, but Tanabata has a very special meaning for me, because of something that happened a long time ago."

If this story was heading where I thought it was heading then I wasn't sure whether I was too happy to tag along.

"In the middle school I was totally unsatisfied with my life and couldn't stand boring, ordinary people and their dull complacency. No matter what I did, people couldn't understand how exciting their lives could be if there was something wonderful and unique within their reach. The constant failures to find anything despite my best efforts made me really frustrated, and I started to feel like giving up altogether. Then, during a Tanabata festival, I met somebody who gave me hope. Somebody _interesting_."

And just like that, without any warning, we were dropped directly into the danger zone! Clearly, if Haruhi told me too many details about that event I would lose my trump card; who knows what would happen after that, especially if the aliens learned about it. However, I couldn't think of anything that I could do to prevent it and started to feel rather uncomfortable, as if the already hot and humid evening atmosphere had just been heated by another ten degrees.

"The person whom I met by chance told me that extraordinary things were already all around us, and it was only a matter of knowing where to look; he said it so casually that it had to be true! So, that was why I had failed to find anything. I realized that extraordinary beings must keep themselves concealed, or otherwise they stop being extraordinary and become just as mundane as everything else. That was when I decided that I would never give up, that I would find them no matter what.

"That was four years ago, and every year when I celebrate Tanabata it makes me remember that particular event. But this time, when I thought about it I also noticed something else.

"Things didn't work out exactly the way I had expected, but still, I've found … interesting things, just because of that encounter. I've been having more fun than ever before, and that's why I hoped to get a chance to express my gratitude to that person. But I never learned his real name, and I don't think that he even realized how much that single incident meant to me. He must have forgotten the whole thing already; it's starting to feel like a distant dream to me as well.

"I wanted to move forward, and this was one of the things bothering me. When people unknowingly do something that you find important you should tell them about it; it's only proper to speak your mind when warranted. So, even if it looks insignificant to everybody else I wanted to say 'thank you' to that person. That was my wish for this Tanabata.

"However, the thought of having to wait another twenty-five years for a reply made it feel rather pointless to write the wish on a tanzaku. I thought that if I came here and made a message out of lanterns, then the _kami_ would see it and, if I was fortunate enough, forward it to the proper destination without any delay. After all, they are kami so they should be able to do it one way or another, right?

"But … I needed your help for doing it."

Haruhi stopped speaking but kept her gaze fixed at the artificial Milky Way beneath us, as if waiting for my reply; her frustration had abated, leaving only wistfulness. The sight of Haruhi standing on the bridge, looking so forlorn and dejected, made my mind reel from the sheer injustice of the entire situation. It wasn't just that her sincere words evoked thoughts that I found too difficult to handle at the moment, but the whole thing was so impossible that I didn't know what to do.

Haruhi couldn't know that her wish had just been heard and granted, without moving a single lantern! Even worse, regardless of what would happen next she would be deprived of the answer she was looking for. I wanted to let her know, but couldn't; not without risking everything. I would've even helped her with the lanterns now, but I knew already that nothing good would come out of that — it was completely pointless! Also, I had a vague feeling that there was something more to the situation than just Haruhi wanting to express gratitude, but I couldn't figure out what that something was; it bothered me and made me too anxious to even try to resolve the deadlock.

How did we arrive at this point? I wanted to do something, _anything_, but my hands were tied by what I knew and she didn't; that disparity created an impassable chasm between us two as surely as if we had been standing at the opposite ends of the sky.

In the end I couldn't say a word, and that made me feel pathetic.

…

Sensing that no answer was forthcoming, Haruhi eventually let out a heavy sigh and looked up to the dark sky that was now rapidly getting overcast by ragged clouds.

"You know, time is a precious resource. Once a day is over it will never come back. Therefore, you should always strive to grasp any available opportunities and live life to the fullest; it's worse to regret things that you didn't do than those that you did.

"Now that I think about it, perhaps it's a mistake to celebrate Tanabata according to the Western calendar instead of the Chinese one? I wonder if we should at least observe _tsuki-okure_ and hold the festival in August, like people do in Sendai?"

She lowered her gaze from the sullen sky and sighed once again before adding one final thought.

"I wanted to see the Milky Way tonight, but it looks like I was hoping too much…."

Perhaps Haruhi couldn't see the Milky Way, but I certainly could, as the lights of the garden reflected in her eyes like a swirling galaxy; I had to turn my head away because I wasn't sure what I might have done if I had kept watching her when she looked like that. I felt shaken and flustered, and the only thing I could be certain of was that I needed a cold shower!

"Well, so much about it, then. I'm going home."

Haruhi tried to sound indifferent but I could still notice how disappointed she was. I had to sigh as well. If that girl had to get her message heard, why didn't she just buy an _ema_ and write it there like everybody else? Well, that was the crux of the issue, wasn't it? Haruhi was _not_ like everybody else, as if I hadn't noticed that before.

I followed in her steps back to the main shrine where we found the other brigade members, still enjoying the scenery. If any of them found it peculiar to see us two arriving together they didn't let it show; in my current state of mind I wouldn't probably even have noticed.

When we walked back to the railway station Haruhi didn't seem to want any company and marched at her own pace well ahead everybody else. I saw that both Koizumi and Asahina-san looked at me questioningly, but I didn't feel like giving any explanations. Instead, a particular thought had started to bother me, and after mulling it over for a while I decided that I had to discuss it with the only member of the brigade who appeared completely unconcerned about the events of the day.

"Hey, Nagato? I know that you cannot currently synchronize with yourself, but would you still be able to tell if there's something wrong with the flow of time? Like if we were inside a loop again, or something?"

"Yes."

That wasn't the most helpful answer. "Yes as in that you can sense it, or that there's something wrong?"

"The local topology of this temporal plane is completely normal."

Nagato tilted her head slightly to the side and seemed to reflect on what had just been said before continuing on her own initiative: "Would there be a reason to believe otherwise?"

That was a good question. What was it that had made me worry about it in the first place? The combination of circumstances and something that Haruhi had said….

Well, if that wasn't the case then it didn't really matter.

"I was just checking, there isn't anything in particular. Though, if I ever have to live this day again, it would be nice to get a warning before going to the shrine."

Nagato examined me critically for a moment but didn't say anything, and I was quietly thankful for that.

* * *

We took the local train back to Kouyouen and retrieved our school bags from the storage locker. That reminded me — had I carried this heavy bag the whole evening for no reason whatsoever?

Haruhi extended one arm in my direction while keeping her head turned away from me. "I'll take it now and appreciate that you don't keep talking about it any more."

She was so obviously depressed that I could only feel for her. It was neither her fault nor mine, but somehow a day that had seemed so auspicious at first had turned out to be much more unfortunate than expected. If only it were possible to know such things in advance then I'd prefer to stay in bed the whole day, waiting for a more favorable one!

Still, I felt strongly that I had to do _something_, no matter how insignificant, to lift the mood. So, while giving Haruhi her bag I said a random thought that just happened to pop up in my mind at the moment.

"Some other time, then?"

Haruhi looked at me, visibly surprised. She stood still for a moment, seemingly uncertain about whether to say something or not, until setting her jaw straight and nodding just once. _Determination_. That was the message I could read in her eyes, and although a determined Haruhi can be a rather intimidating sight, it still made me feel better; not by much, but even a little step in the right direction was better than nothing.

The others could sense that the current atmosphere was somewhat precarious; after minimal observances everybody went their own way. Outside the station I stole a quick glance at the receding figure with a large bag on her shoulder and wondered whether I'd ever find out what it was that I had been carrying all around the city. Probably not.

On the way home I had time to reflect on the events of the day. I was still feeling perplexed about some of the thoughts that they had evoked, so I tried to concentrate on analyzing the situation in a rational manner.

Compared to the events of one year ago this Tanabata had appeared more normal, at least on the surface. Certainly, I hadn't been invited to any time traveling trips this time; neither had any other extraordinary events taken place, unless I counted the mystery of that disappearing person. It was as if supernatural incidents had become more subtle, happening under the cover of normalcy, and could only be seen by chance, like a small, furry animal that disappears into its burrow as soon as you notice it. I couldn't decide whether I preferred it one way or the other.

Come to think of it, was the fulfillment of Haruhi's wish a manifestation of her powers or just a coincidence? I couldn't tell, but regardless of that it was obvious that it hadn't made either of us happy. Wasn't there a fundamental conflict in the whole issue if the same power that enabled all those extraordinary things prevented her from ever learning about them? That sounded like an ultimately unsatisfying premise to me, but I couldn't find any means of rectifying the situation.

Even then, the reality altering power didn't seem to yield to rational analysis, at least with my mental capabilities. Koizumi had said that whatever Haruhi believed to be true necessarily became that way, but I had a hard time trying to relate that proposition to the recent events. It looked like Haruhi's wish had been granted even before she had done what she believed to be a necessary step to the effect; on the other hand she had specifically wanted to see the Milky Way, and there wasn't any reason to believe otherwise, but that hadn't still happened. If Koizumi's theory was true, shouldn't we have been able to observe a most magnificent stellar spectacle?

Could it be that Haruhi's powers were slowly waning, or was there something else?

It was around that time when I noticed that the weather was changing. A gusty wind was picking up strength and making trees shake and rustle; cicadas had stopped singing as if they had suddenly vanished without a trace. I looked up and saw a solid cloud front approaching rapidly from the sea as it sometimes happens during the summer months, wrapping everything in complete darkness like a giant blanket being drawn over the city. I started to run, but I was still about two blocks away from home when the sudden torrential rain hit the neighborhood.

It's needless to even mention that I got wet. I knew that I had hoped for a cold shower at some point, but no matter which way one looked at it, this was a bit excessive.

I arrived home, dripping water on the floor like a soaked dog, and went upstairs to change my clothes. When I was hanging my jacket out to dry I noticed that there was a lump of sticky mush at the bottom of the side pocket. It took me a while until I recognized it as the remains of the cake that I had decided to spare. Oh boy, talk about driving a point home!

After a while, as I stood in the bathroom drying my hair with a towel, a random tidbit that I had recently read somewhere came to my mind. It went along the lines that according to the chaos theory, when a particular butterfly in Fukuoka flaps its wings in a certain way, then two days later it rains on Hokkaido.

If I ever mentioned something like that to Haruhi she would undoubtedly say that it had to be true because it sounded too odd to be a fabrication, and would then probably try to find such a butterfly to see how it does the trick. Well, that right there was the exact reason why I'd better keep my mouth shut because Haruhi is completely capable of creating more than enough chaos on her own even if she doesn't realize it herself, and whenever Haruhi flaps _her_ wings there's much more at stake than just a sudden shower of rain!

Admittedly, I couldn't tell whether this latest downpour was caused by one of those mischievous butterflies, or more mundane meteorological phenomena like humidity, air pressure and cold fronts, and it didn't even matter that much either way, now did it? And if by any chance the current state of mind of our peerless brigade chief had something to do with the weather we were having tonight, then wouldn't that be first and foremost Koizumi's problem and not mine? At least that was what I thought.

So, I spent the rest of the day by having dinner with my family, doing some homework and then playing with the cat and watching TV until it was time to go to bed.

I felt dead tired after all the walking and pushed the cat to the side of the bed in order to have more room for myself when I heard something rustling under my pillow; I picked the object up and saw that it was a piece of red paper. I turned it around a couple of times but it was just a plain paper slip, empty on both sides. Well, that was rather unusual, but I couldn't bother thinking too much about it at the moment. I put the slip on the nightstand and decided to ask my sister about it in the morning. I wasn't going to lose any sleep over a random piece of paper.

In retrospect, I don't think that I'd have been so calm if I had known that somewhere along the way the proverbial butterfly had just flapped it wings and set in motion a long chain of events that would eventually lead me to a situation where the sudden explosive eruption of a nearby stratovolcano was among the least of my concerns.

I'd like to underline the fact that the last part was neither a hyperbole nor a figure of speech.

**End of Prologue (Remembrance Impromptu)**

* * *

Author's Notes: I wanted to make the prologue a self-contained short story that still incorporates all the essential motifs of the main work in a nascent form. At this point the overall style and thrust of the story should be rather evident; the seeds have been sown, and all that remains is to observe how they eventually grow to fruition. If you have enjoyed the scenery so far then I sincerely believe that you shouldn't be disappointed when this journey eventually reaches its intended destination. Until then, if the story manages to evoke some particular thoughts or feelings along the way then I would be very grateful to hear about them.


End file.
